Kalamazoo Visit

On the third anniversary of the 2010 Line 6B Enbridge oil spill in the Kalamazoo River, Line 9 Communities went to Marshall, Michigan to survey the current environmental condition and meet local residents.

Disaster Facts:

Marshall, Michigan USA

17 Hours to Respond

3,000,000L / 877,000 US Gallons Spilled

4 Days Until Enbridge Addressed Household Evacuations and Drinking Water Concerns

35 Miles of Kalamazoo River Affected (area remained closed for two years and as of July 25th, 2013, portions of the river were RE-CLOSED due to cleanup concerns).

Despite Enbridge’s Defiance … The EPA ordered cleanup continues to this day …

Entrance to Enbridge Line 6B replacement work site in Marshall, Michigan. Precision Pipeline is the company contracted by Enbridge.

Yet another abandoned home beside Talmadge Creek. Ground zero for the Enbridge Line 6B 2010 disaster. We drove by well over 50 abandoned homes in the area. After the disaster, numerous residents were forced off their property due to the fumes and oil contamination. In the end, over 150 families never moved home.

Netting bordering Talmadge Creek is still clearly visible 3 years later. A local resident named John Bolenbaugh has raised questions about whether Enbridge used canvass to cover oil soaked wetlands.

Effective on the 3 year anniversary, portions of the Kalamazoo River have been closed indefinitely. This has gone almost entirely unreported in the popular media. The closure is due to the EPA ordered dredging for submerged oil along the river and at the historic Ceresco Dam.

This was posted at Saylor Landing on the Kalamazoo River. Despite what the flyer claims, there were no sanitation wipes or info pamphlets available.

On July 28th, 2013, we saw both “Oil Sheen” and “Natural Sheen” in the river by Historic Bridge Park. The water also foamed and bubbled when agitated.

The Enbridge sign said there were info pamphlets below … so we looked. Every box was empty.

Oil boom still present at the top of the Ceresco Dam in the Kalamazoo River three years after the spill.